## Story 2 'Picture Perfect'

Aims

- I can read for specific information.

Instructions

1. Read the story 'Picture Perfect'.
2. You can also listen to the audio whilst reading.
3. Answer the questions in your notebook.
4. Discuss your answers with one of your classmates.
5. Write your own questions on the story.
6. Swap your questions with a classmate and try to answer their questions.
7. Check each other's answers.

### Audio

### Picture Perfect

Jenny loved to draw and paint. She drew on anything and everything. When she was a little girl, her mother often found drawings on the walls and floor, in books, and on Jenny’s toys. If there were pencils, pens or paints around, Jenny drew a picture.

One day, Jenny was taking her first art class at school. She was very excited.
The art teacher, Mrs. Minton, told the children to paint the flowers in a vase at the front of the class.

‘Don’t worry if your painting doesn’t look exactly like the painting by the person next to you,’ she said. ‘The important thing is to paint what you see.’
Jenny worked very hard. She spent so long painting that her hand began to hurt from holding the brush.

She put the brush down for a moment to rest and looked at the painting next to hers.
‘That’s really good,’ she said to Carrie. Carrie’s painting was small and neat. Every flower was exactly like the real flowers in the vase.
‘Thanks,’ said Carrie. She looked over at Jenny’s painting. ‘Oh! What happened to yours?’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Jenny. She looked at her own painting. It was very different from Carrie’s. It covered the whole page and the colors were brighter than the real flowers.
‘It looks like a big mess,’ said Carrie. ‘Did you spill the paint?’
‘No,’ said Jenny, upset. ‘I painted what I saw, just like Mrs Minton said.’
‘It’s OK, you know,’ said Carrie. ‘Not everyone is good at art.’
Mrs Minton was walking through the class looking at all the paintings. When she
heard what Carrie said, she came over to look at Jenny’s work.‘Oh my,’ she said.

Jenny felt as though she might cry. She loved painting so much and now it seemed she wasn’t very good at it. ‘Is it really bad?’ she asked.
‘Bad?’ said Mrs Minton. ‘Oh no! I think it’s wonderful, Jenny. It’s so full of color and happiness.’Jenny was very surprised.
‘But Mrs Minton, it doesn’t look anything like the flowers you told us to draw.’ Carrie said.

‘Maybe not to you, Carrie. Everyone sees different things when they look at the world.
I have something I want to show you,’ Mrs Minton answered gently.
She showed them a picture in a book of a painting. ‘This is a picture an artist painted of his own face. This is how he saw himself.’
‘But … but … it’s just a few lines,’ said Carrie. ‘It doesn’t look anything like a real person.’
Mrs Minton turned to Jenny. ‘You should read this book, Jenny. It’s all about famous artists and their paintings. There are a lot of different kinds of paintings and one isn’t better than the other.’
‘Thank you,’ said Jenny. She took the book from Mrs Minton.

That evening, Jenny read all about the famous artists. Some of their paintings were very strange, but she liked to look at them all.
‘I’m going to be an artist when I grow up,’ she said to her mother.
Her mother smiled as she looked at the painting Jenny had brought home from school. ‘I think that’s a very good idea, Jenny. Let’s have your first ever painting hanging on the living room wall,’ she said.

### Questions:

Why do you think Jenny liked drawing and painting?
What kind of things do you think she liked drawing or painting?
What do you think Mrs Minton meant by this?
What do you think Carrie meant?
What do you think Jenny’s painting looked like?
Why do you think Carrie said this?
How do you think Jenny felt?
Why was Jenny surprised?
How do you think she felt now?
What do you think she did next?
Why do you think Jenny enjoyed reading the book so much?
How do you think Jenny felt?
Do you think she will become a famous artist?